Taking a temporary break from the dramatic transfer saga surrounding Duncan McGuire, there was a new name linked with a winter switch to Orlando City SC yesterday as the Lions reportedly line up a new striker to replace the 22-year-old.
Yesterday evening, Italian journalist and transfer expert Rudy Galetti tweeted that Orlando City SC are among the clubs “seriously interested” in signing Atalanta’s experienced Colombian international striker, Luis Muriel.
🚨📃 More on Luis #Muriel: #OrlandoCity are among the clubs seriously interested in the #Atalanta player.
📌 The 🇺🇲 team identified the 🇨🇴 striker as a target to replace Duncan #Mcguire, on his way to Blackburn Rovers as @ChrisWheatley first reported. 🐓⚽ #Transfers https://t.co/9aJATZFQlp pic.twitter.com/qja0QaUMHC
— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) January 31, 2024
Following Galetti’s scoop, fellow Italian journalist Matteo Moretto corroborated this information today.
He further tweeted that City have “presented a first offer” for Luis Muriel.
Interestingly, Moretto also noted that “if he [Muriel] does not leave now, the interest of the Americans will remain until the summer, when his contract with Atalanta ends.”
Orlando City ha presentato in queste ore una prima offerta per Muriel. I club stanno discutendo per un possibile trasferimento last minute.
L’interesse, in ogni caso, resterebbe vivo per giugno quando Muriel sarà svincolato. https://t.co/64uBR499ak
— Matteo Moretto (@MatteMoretto) February 1, 2024
Indeed, Luis Muriel’s current contract expires on June 30, 2024, after which he will be allowed to join a new club as a free agent.
Without Duncan McGuire, could Orlando City SC ride with Ramiro Enrique and Jack Lynn until the summer?
Or could Luis Muriel join this February instead?
These are the big questions running through the minds of Orlando City SC supporters right now.
An incredibly fluid situation that is changing by the hour, Luiz Muzzi, Ricardo Moreira, and co must certainly be burning the midnight oil at present!
With transfer season hitting uncharted levels of intrigue this week, we dug a little deeper into who Luis Muriel is.
Who is Luis Muriel?
Luis Muriel is a 32-year-old Colombian international centre forward.
He currently plays for Italian Serie A side Atalanta.
Right footed and standing at 5 ft 10 in, he hails from Santo Tomás in the Colombian department of Atlántico.
Starting his professional career with Deportivo Cali in Colombia, Muriel’s talent quickly garnered attention, leading him to Udinese in Italy.
His initial seasons at Udinese saw him loaned out to Granada and Lecce, gaining valuable experience before returning to Stadio Friuli in 2012.
It was during this year that he earned the Serie A Best Young Revelation award, sharing the honour with AC Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy.
Over the course of 57 Serie A appearances for I Bianconeri, Muriel showcased his attacking flair, netting 15 league goals and laying the foundation for a promising career.
In January 2015, he joined fellow Serie A side Sampdoria, leaving an indelible mark with 21 goals in 79 league appearances during his two-and-a-half-season stint in Genoa.
Joining Sevilla for a reported club-record €20 million in July 2017, this ended Luis Muriel’s first spell in Italian football.
However, it wouldn’t be too long before the Colombian returned across the Mediterranean.
Enduring limited game time behind Wissam Ben Yedder, André Silva, and Quincy Promes at Sevilla, the La Liga side loaned Muriel to Fiorentina in January 2019.
After this loan, it was Luis Muriel’s permanent transfer to Atalanta in June 2019 that truly defined his career trajectory.
Joining the Bergamo side for a reported €18 million fee, Muriel’s signing has been worth every penny!
In his debut season for Atalanta, Muriel scored 18 league goals, guiding La Dea to UEFA Champions League qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
In his subsequent season, Muriel finsihed as the third top goalscorer in Serie A, standing shoulder to shoulder with giants like Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku.
Helping Atalanta secure a second consecutive Champions League berth, Muriel’s stellar contributions earned him a well-deserved spot in the 2020/21 Serie A Team of the Year.
A reliable goalscorer down the years, Luis Muriel has scored 120 goals in 380 domestic league appearances throughout his career.
That’s a goal every 3.1 games.
On the international stage, Luis Muriel has been a stalwart for the Colombian national team since making his senior debut in June 2012.
His journey includes representing his country in the 2015, 2019, and 2021 editions of the Copa América, as well as being part of Colombia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup squad too.
To date, Luis Muriel has scored eight goals in 45 appearances for La Tricolor.
What’s next for Luis Muriel?
It will be interesting to see whether Orlando City SC wrap up a deal for Luis Muriel now or wait until he becomes a free agent in the summer.
Or perhaps there’s nothing in this rumour at all?
We’ll have to wait and see.
No strangers to scouting the Colombian market, the Lions have either signed or been linked to a whole host of Colombian players in the past.
Signings-wise, we’ve previously recruited Cristian Higuita, Andrés Perea, and Iván Angulo.
Rumour-wise, we’ve been linked with Juan Fernando Quintero, Darwin Quintero, and Alex Castro in years gone by.
With Oscar Pareja being Colombian himself, we are watching this space for any more movement regarding this rumour.
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